Family
by 123nnana
Summary: Sirius reflects on his family, particularly his brother, and how they're all riddled with faults. And then a conversation with Harry clears his mind to what's really important. Takes place during the Order of Phoenix and during the Deathly Hallows.


You know the worst thing about family? No matter how much you want to hate them, want to get away from them, despise them even, they'll always be special to you.

Sirius hated his father. He was a lousy, no-good pure blood who worshipped Voldemort like God, and hated all Muggle-borns. Had it not been illegal, his father would have been one of the first people to sign up as a Death Eater.

His mother, was just...well. There really was nothing Sirius could say about his mother. He despised her with a passion, felt ashamed in calling her his mother, and even so many years after her death, he still shuddered when he thought of the few moments he had spent with her. She was a horrible old woman, to say the least. But Sirius knew, despite how much he wanted to deny it, that somewhere deep inside his heart, he still felt an ounce of affection for the old bat. A mother's a mother, no matter how terrible her personality is.

And the only person left was the one that made Sirius's heart ache the most: Regulus. While he could loathe his parents, Sirius could never bring himself to hate Regulus. No matter how terrible he was, he was still his little brother. Their mindsets were worlds apart, but they still shared one thing in common; their ancestry, their parents.

You could tell how different the two brothers were just by sneaking a look inside their bedrooms. Regulus's was covered with silver and green draperies, while Sirius's was decked in maroon and gold, the colors of Gryffindor. Regulus agreed with the beliefs of his parents, while Sirius firmly thought otherwise. But still, there was something between the two brothers that could not be erased.

When he was at school, his fellow Gryffindors used to poke fun at Sirius. "Your baby brother's a Slytherin," and all that. He had never had the heart to tell them that his entire family had been in Slytherin. It would just make him seem strange, weird, an outsider in their House. Which he was. He always kept trying to tell himself that he belonged here, that the Sorting Hat had put him here for good reason. He was brave, noble, every quality that the Gryffindors had. But his blood said otherwise. He couldn't forget about his kin, even if he did despise them.

His parents loved Regulus. When he was a child he used to feel put out about the predicament. "I'm the big brother, I'm the oldest son," he would say to himself, "How come Regulus is treated like royalty?"

But soon he had come to ignore it. His parents were crochety old fools, blissful in their ignorance and stupidity, and he shouldn't give them any thought. But the fact remained that he was an outsider. In his home, at Hogwarts. Everywhere.

When Sirius had first found out that Regulus had finally joined Voldemort, he didn't know quite what to feel. He had known that it was coming for a long time, but when it finally happened, the reality of it set on him. His brother was a Death Eater. While he worked relentlessly with the Order of the Phoenix in an attempt to bring down the feared Dark Lord, his baby brother had joined forces with him. What luck.

Most people were proud of their family. Sirius was beyond ashamed.

* * *

Harry had grown. He was taller now, nearly as tall as Sirius. His hair was longer, and more unkempt than usual, as though he hadn't had access to a bath in quite a while. He was, inexplicably, even thinner than he had been before. Sirius could hardly imagined what hardships his godson must have had to face.

And for what? He was going to die soon anyway.

Sirius was overcome with a desire to hold Harry, embrace him and tell him that everything would be all right, even if it would be an empty promise. But he couldn't. He wasn't alive. He wasn't a ghost. He was stuck in limbo, just until Harry was dead, and then they would both go back to the realm of nothingness together.

As he, Harry, James, Lily and Moony all walked together through the forest, Harry sidled towards him, his eyes determined.

"Sirius," he said in a low voice, so that only he could hear him. "I need to tell you something."

"Go ahead." Sirius replied. He was awestruck at how calm, how normal Harry sounded, even as he faced his imminent demise.

"Regulus," Harry began, and Sirius felt a jolt at hearing his deceased brother's name after so long, "wasn't a Death Eater. Well, he was, but...what I'm trying to say is, he wasn't the bad guy. Sure, he did join Voldemort, but he wasn't in his employ for very long. He was trying to stop Voldemort, just like you. In fact, if he had ever been able to complete his plan, it would have made Voldemort that much closer to defeat. Regulus, he died trying to bring Voldemort down. He was a hero."

"How do you know?" Sirius replied hoarsely. "How do you know all this?"

Harry smiled, a rueful, bitter smile. "I've come to know a lot of things that I'm not supposed to in the past year. And...and I don't want you to...go back, without knowing the truth. Without knowing that you aren't the only sane person in your family. Regulus wasn't your enemy. Remember that."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because. I've come to realize how important family is, and that you shouldn't give up on it. Regulus will never know that you knew of his innocence, but just the fact you _do_ know just might be enough."

And at that moment Sirius felt a wave remorse crash over him. His noble godson was about to die, just minutes after finally answering Sirius's last questions. Before his own death, he had ensured that his godfather would, as they said, rest in peace.

* * *

**My first Harry Potter story. I had't really been writing any because I didn't think I would do the epic series justice. Please tell me whether I have prevailed or not. **

**I hope it wasn't too confusing. The first part took place around the 5th book, and the second part during the 7th, right before Harry confronts Voldemort for the last time. Please tell me what you think in a review!**


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